[A/N: Cue dramatic music…]
A short, nervous chuckle escaped one jittery lioness who made up the ring surrounding Asuma and the acacia tree. Eighteen pairs of eyes leered at him as they snorted heavily through their noses.
Good... they're hesitating to bathe in my blood...
A lioness with sharp, calm eyes and notches in both ears broke from the horde, walking in a delicate way that reminded him of a hunter's crouch. Her voice was calm. "Your sister. Where is she?"
"She's dead." Asuma's chin lifted. He forced a pleased smirk.
Several brows raised in amused disbelief.
"I couldn't tolerate her another second," Asuma continued, mimicking the irritatingly apathetic tone Natin had often used. "I threw her away in the riv...er..."
Grating laughter erupted all around him. Several lionesses slapped their large paws on the ground, while one or two rolled around, as if they were deflecting a swarm of bees.
Laugh all you want... It only helps Tanga escape.
Inwardly, Asuma curled his lips back to show his teeth- outwardly, he struggled to keep up a mask of callous indifference. He started to rub his paw and scarred foreleg over his face to clean away the hare blood. His old wild dog scars were all he had to show off to the lionesses. He hoped in the dark they'd notice them and the blood, but ignore his distasteful cub spots.
Not everybody laughed. The notch-earred lioness was unmoved to join in, and her neutral, sharp gaze had locked on him.
"Quiet!" she snapped at the others.
"But, Fola, it's hilar-"
"Quiet!"
The laughter quickly deflated from the group.
"Now..." the lioness addressed Asuma, "all we need is one of you. Where's Kovu?"
They'd willingly hunt him for me, but I can't take them to the Pride Lands in the process, even if I knew the way, Asuma reasoned. They're bitter and furious, relentless... I wish I'd once thought of the consequences of leaving them behind... I made a mistake believing Natin and Kovu's prejudices when they claimed these lionesses were utterly stupid... Asuma peered harder at Fola. At least she's not stupid.
"Why do you want him, too, if you only need one of us- oh!" Asuma made to look around, speaking in a lilting taunt. "Are you looking for us because he killed Sauda?" Asuma knew Fola was gaging his reaction to her question as he stretched his paws and extended his gunky toes. He scoffed, "Well, anyway... if I knew where he was, wouldn't you be talking to him instead of me? And... he would've stopped me from disposing of Tanga. He loves her to death!"
A few lionesses chuckled again. Fola's expression remained impassive and alert.
Asuma forced a chuckle. "He hasn't been around for days." He knew he was treading over unstable ground. Something he'd done while he'd been with the lionesses previously hadn't convinced them that he was a killer, despite his relation to Kovu, Natin, and Vitani. "Why d'you think I'm not with him? I'm the prince he wanted back on the throne, aren't I?"
"Clearly, you were schemin' behind our backs," Fola replied. Her voice had a faint hiss. She made a dismissive gesture with her head. "It's your plight to fill us in."
Several of the lionesses growled and took steps forward.
"Now, oblige us..."
"Alright..." Somehow, Asuma's urge to keep going, to buy his sister more time, protected him against the terror that should've overwhelmed him.
No point in lying... and no use in leaving out all the lovely details for them, either...
Asuma began with Kovu's thoughtless betrayal to his family. Asuma detailed carefully how Kovu had wasted no energy in hiding the murders of both King Simba and their slain tormentor- Kovu's own mother. When Asuma started in on the part when he'd been at the mercy of wild dogs, when Chaka had jumped in and saved him, he was surprised to see how the lionesses' expressions grew more curious as they absorbed his tale. One after another, they sat down. Asuma then started in on the part when Natin had returned home, told his cousin the truth, and they had both pledged to kill Kovu, even if they never returned home. By then, everyone except Fola was sitting, completely enthralled. When he started to talk about how his sister had disapproved of everything they were doing, it surprised him to see that his dilemma had cultivated what he thought was sympathy in their eyes- for who, he could not tell. Natin's trampling only brought on more sympathy, but something else he couldn't grasp. He could only guess they were thinking about how they'd killed Vitani. There were several growls when he spoke of how Kovu had run off while Natin lie dying. When he spoke of the old lion he'd left to die in a hole, their expressions were almost entirely unreadable. He grew nervous, but kept going.
Did everything that's coming out of my mouth really happen? Am I really telling all of this to them?
Finally, he'd planned to detail Tanga's death as vividly as he could, but decided against it, not that he could bring himself to do so. He didn't need them breaking out into fits of laughter again. If they looked hard enough, they'd find the hare blood at the edge of the river.
"I silenced Tanga," he said simply. "I ended her complaints about how wrong I was. I don't know why she misunderstood me." He gripped the ground and tore into it with his claws. It wasn't hard to fake his outward emotions now. "How can I be wrong about killing someone who tried to kill me, and wants to kill my family? You must understand, surely?" He glanced around. "How couldn't you?"
Fola, the only one still standing, remarked observantly, "You were lying here as if you expected us."
"Maybe." A grin slid up Asuma's face. "You do understand what my problem is." His sinister grin widened.
"Yes, entirely." Fola seemed to have a small smile on her lips, but it didn't reach her cold eyes. "You've no idea where Kovu is?"
"Let them take you prisoner. Please! I'm going to the Pride Lands to get help!"
Asuma shook his head. He had no delusions that Fola would offer to help take vengeance on his father, and he wasn't about to wander the desert with them, pretending he knew where Kovu was. They were out for his blood. That was it. The words rang from his mouth. "No. I don't."
"If you stay alive long enough, I can get you help! I can get you home!"
Fola nodded, then glanced at her pridesisters as they climbed to their paws by some small cue.
"I think we're just about finished here," Fola said, giving a tight-lipped smile.
Icy laughter came from the killers as Asuma stood up. Even though he knew that this was it, he could only think one thing:
No, she needs more time!
Eighteen lionesses grinned at him with their long fangs and advanced smoothly to tighten their trap. Blood ran from Asuma's face as he saw the tiny gaps between beasts shrink and vanish. Their radiating heat suffocated him. He snarled, unable to omit the nervous shrillness, and had barely side-stepped when the first lioness chomped down on his tail. Immediately, she jerked her head and threw him off balance, triggering a stabbing, throbbing pain that halted at the base of his skull. He spun to disengage her. While the first lioness used his own body against him, always staying out his range, another lioness darted in to nip the backs of both hind ankles. He grunted and swatted at the empty air. His frantic dancing to free his tail lessened her blows, but her next bite was more severe. Blood oozed from his deep leg wound. Forced to redistribute his weight onto three legs, he was exceedingly more awkward.
The flow of attackers thickened. They swarmed in competition to take their chunk of his flesh, but what chilled him was that the laughter had died away. He realized he hadn't heard them issue anything louder than an excited snarl. He tripped violently over his front paws after his broken tail was released, and he was flung closer to one lioness who slashed the side of his face. His eyes watered. Through his blurred sight, he saw another lioness's jaws unhinge like a snake's as she lunged.
Remember what he showed you!
Asuma's stomach leaped. He raised his right paw, smashing her in the jaw, deflecting her away from his neck. The rest of the group reacted, pulsing like one large monster. He was only able to dodge one bite, and it directly resulted in another lioness taking hold of a chunk of his mane with her jaws.
She needs more time! he screamed in his head as the lioness's teeth scissored into his mane. Asuma tucked his chin and bit down as hard as he could on the top of her head until she hollered and fell away like a tick.
The tree!
In the same instant, he bit into the shoulder of another lioness, released her, and wrenched his body towards the trunk of the acacia tree. He jumped up as far as he could, snagging his claws in the tree's rough bark. He'd reached the lowest, thorny branches when he realized a set of claws had lodged into one hip and his back. He grunted, jaw clenched so tight he thought he'd shatter his teeth. Her weight dragged her down the length of his hip and spine. Searing pain filled him.
I'm slipping! I can't fight them on the ground! It can't be over yet!
He swatted at the lioness with his busted tail, drawing from his waning inner strength to pull himself upwards. Forelegs shuddering in distress, both his weakened hind legs fought to find purchase on the bark. Once he was high enough to wedge the crook of one foreleg between a branch and the trunk of the tree, Asuma twisted and kicked at the dangling lioness's chest and throat until she released him. Panting, he climbed. He thought the lionesses would wait for him to climb higher before they followed him. Blood streaming down his face, he kept his eyes on the dark tangle of prickly branches and leaves above. Stretching his forelegs, he hoisted himself into the top most branches. Gasping for air, he looked down and saw that many of the branches below him glistened in the moonlight.
They're coated in my blood...
"...Won't last long up there."
Asuma blinked. The lionesses hadn't followed him after all, and instead were sitting at the base of the tree, smirking up at him. Several licked their wounds.
"I'm impressed he climbed that thing."
"More impressive if he hadn't treed himself."
One called up to him, "Hey, y'know, if you were tryin' to live, you just made the stupidest mistake ever!"
No, I haven't.
He couldn't stop panting. His guts contracted, and his vision started to spin. He gagged. There was no spot on his body that didn't throb.
"By the end of the day, you'll either bleed out or die looking at that river!"
"You'll fall out of that tree like a newborn bird, and then blam! We gettcha! Hahahaha!"
Asuma closed his eyes. They intended on seeing him die.
Good... If I'm here, all of you are here.
"I think he understands what he's done to himself," Fola remarked coolly.
Through the thin, green leaves, Asuma saw something in her eyes that he couldn't quite place. For certain, he now saw her as different from the others, who continued to make crude jokes about things being caught in trees and falling out of them. A moment passed when he wondered where these creatures had come from, what had made them so destructive in such an uncultured way. Quickly, however, he stopped caring to waste his energy on such things- unless, later, it would keep them occupied to ask... or keep his mind off the blood slipping from his wounds and the brewing thirst in his throat.
But I'm sure by this time tomorrow I won't care either way...
~ ~ * * * () * * * ~ ~
After Kiara left with Kenyi, Chaka didn't bother with the den, where it was warm and stifling. He sat for a while, practicing Tswane's meditation, but, quickly growing bored and irritated, he decided to try getting some sleep. He had to stop counting how many times he ordered his anxious mind and his body to relax.
Sometime before dawn, he opened his eye a sliver and groaned. He was partly on his back. His head lolled to the side, and he sensed that he was close to the ledge of Pride Rock, where he'd been presented to the Pride Lands as the new prince, and where Scar had nearly killed his father. He rolled away for safety, and rested a paw over his face to shut out the moon and starlight, but after a moment he sensed that he wasn't alone. He listened for a moment before he lifted his head and looked behind him.
"Tojo?"
"You sleep away from your pride?" Tojo asked quietly. He loomed over Chaka, directly between him and the den. The big lion stretched his paws for a moment before he laid down with a groan, a grimace, and a few pops of his old joints. "Are you keeping watch?"
"Yes." Chaka tensed instinctively- he knew Tojo was making it so that he couldn't easily run off, refusing to talk. However, this meeting starkly contrasted with the bickering match they'd had days before when Chaka had angrily demanded the king aid him with warriors against Kovu. Many choice insults had passed between them that day, and they rang in Chaka's ears.
He doesn't even act like I called him a stuck-up piece of old carrion, or that he called me a spoiled brat. What did Kiara do to convince him to help me with my messed-up head?
"You aren't keeping watch."
Chaka remained on his belly, but sat up a bit straighter. "Excuse me? My pride just might be attacked at any moment."
Tojo blinked and placed one foreleg over the other. "You keep watch behind your eyelids?"
"Light sleeper. And I only have one working eye."
Tojo stared back, but a slow smile widened his muzzle and reached his blue eyes. "My mistake."
"Tswane will keep helping you. And Tojo, too..."
Yes, if I let them... I didn't even return tonight until after dinner had been eaten and Kiara was preparing to leave...
"I was a light sleeper when I was younger," Tojo remarked. "I still am, but just for different reasons now." Several of his joints popped again.
"Uh... yeah," Chaka stammered, "I'll admit I don't sleep so great, either. Rather be productive than lying in the cave."
Tojo made a face- something between pity, irritation, and flinty benevolence. Chaka didn't understand the expression until Tojo explained, "You know, I expected to see that you ran this pride like a glorified machine... or at least that you'd have several lionesses doting upon you like a... a..."
"Spoiled brat," Chaka offered instantly.
Tojo made the face again. "If I ask you a direct question, it's your responsibility to tell me the truth... Un-der-stand?" His expression then grew darker, more similar to the one Chaka recalled when Tojo had told him 'no' over and over again. "I'm old. You're not. I won't waste my breath on you."
Chaka narrowed his eyes, trying to grasp the entirety of Kiara's efforts to help him get better. She'd appealed to this king somehow, and maybe she didn't even know how.
"Why are you willing to waste some breath on me?" he asked Tojo. "It can't just be because I'm your friend's kid."
"Well, why not?" Tojo shook his head in mock offense. "Not everybody lies about their intentions, Chaka."
Chaka ground his teeth for a moment. The crotchedy lion had a point. Chaka still didn't think it was the whole point.
Tojo glanced away for a moment. "I've seen what rage can do. I'm not unfamiliar to it myself." He met Chaka's gaze again. "There's a reason I never made an effort to return to the Pride Lands, and it wasn't because your father didn't want me here."
Immediately, Chaka knew this was what had swayed Tojo. The younger lion felt himself relax, sensing the start of a tale.
I used to like those... I think...
Tojo sighed. His sight became distant. "Scar destroyed the land- nobody could argue otherwise. He drove me from my homelands when I was too young to do anything but survive. I had to leave my family behind unprotected from him. He banished my friend Chumvi with me, and we went to the pride of our other friend, Malka. At night, we schemed how to get back at Scar. I always fell asleep with this intense hatred in my bones. It would've been worse had I known how blood-stained Scar's throne was. I probably would've taken real action. My anger didn't ebb until years after your father had returned, and I suspect it might be due to my age. I just don't care to mull over dead villains anymore. Mulling also takes time away from those you love.
"It hurt your father more to lose you," Tojo continued, "than it did to lose Mufasa; Simba was responsible for your life." Tojo paused, weighing his words carefully. "After he thought Zira had killed you, he grew paranoid. And when Nala got on with your sister, it worsened. Of course, he never told me this himself- it was how he behaved. It didn't bother me any when he ruthlessly exiled half his pride, and told me they were living on the border in the desert. He told me to be wary of them in case they decided to 'attack me and my children'. I tried asking your mother what was the matter, but for one I was too busy at home and whenever we were face-to-face, Simba lingered close. I felt he did this purposely, so I made my visits shorter, less frequent. I was mistaken to do so."
"What'd you think when he fully accepted Kovu into the pride?"
Tojo flexed one of his paws thoughtfully and flipped his tail. "I was a bit confused, but once Simba explained why he thought Kovu had changed, and that he was willing to forgive the rogue, I didn't question him, and thought he'd finally gotten some peace, since he'd bothered to tell me himself instead of hiding things. Simba did the same with Malka, Chumvi, Kula, and Tama."
Chaka frowned and glanced down at his paws. "I've met them. Haven't left much of an impression on them, either."
"Enough about bad impressions for now," Tojo said briskly. "Four seasons ago, your mother paid me a visit and told me what you all thought happened to Simba. As of late, your information on Kovu is shaky at best. Now, tell me what you think happened to make Kovu jump from loving father to serial killer seemingly in the span of a few weeks."
"Can't reason out the actions of the insane, Tojo," Chaka asserted. "Kovu said my father was like a father to him, and that he was trying to prove something to him. Kovu said he wanted to protect the members of our pride by lying. He told Kiara that our father had some made-up issues about trust and forgiveness. He tried to make me feel guilty for not being home to protect my own father from him." He fell silent.
"Chaka?"
Chaka growled quietly as he let out a long breath. "When I heard that that snake had killed my father, I went ballistic." He remembered trying to get a good shot at Kovu's throat, and he remembered clawing Kovu's unprotected belly. "My face was caked in blood... his with mine. I took his tail, he took my eye."
Tojo allowed him a moment to himself, but Chaka could've festered in his anger for the rest of the morning if he'd allowed it. "Chaka... Nala told me that your father had had nightmares about Kovu months before the murder happened."
Chaka waved a paw, shaking his head. "She mentioned that once or twice- but so what? That's an excuse to murder someone?"
"No. That's not how she saw it."
"How else can you see it? Kovu's destiny from day one was to-"
"She saw," Tojo spoke over him, "that Simba's dreams disturbed him- not in a way in which he was scared Kovu would harm him. No, Simba's mind was clinging to the past, and he desperately wanted to forget and move on. The things Kovu claimed may suggest what went on between them during the last moments they had in this life together. Maybe Kovu felt that Simba betrayed him."
Chaka couldn't swallow Tojo's theory that Kovu's ramblings had been more sane than insane. He couldn't imagine that monster looking up to Simba as a father figure. How could one creature cause so much damage to so many lives, and then blame others? Chaka was reminded of the old king in the pride he had once belonged to. The king hadn't hesitated to order cubs much too young to join battle training, and had several of his advisors executed for speaking too boldly- or too rationally. Once, it was rumored that the mad king had taken one of his favorite lionesses up to the cliff where they'd spent many of their intimate moments. The king's guards had found him in a state after he'd failed to come down from the cliff that night. The king sobbed that the lioness had fallen by accident, but the guards suspected otherwise, especially later when another guard who was in charge of helping the king's lionesses had been called forth and executed under flimsy accusations of plotting to form a rebellion against the king.
Tojo's voice was reasonable. "At least consider what I've said." The elder stood up and yawned widely. The stars and the moon were drifting sleepily behind the horizon, and the dark sky was beginning to turn a sickly pink in the east. "Go into your den. You might find it comforting enough to find some much-needed sleep."
Chaka huffed in exasperation. Normally, he slept so pitifully that he was up at first light and gone out on patrol. Tojo was ordering him to bed like a small cub.
"I can't force you do what you don't want to," Tojo warned, yawning again, "but isn't that partly why I am here?"
Chaka rolled his eyes, but he couldn't suppress a smirk. The more Tojo yawned, the more tired he felt, and the more he warmed to the idea of hiding in the dark den.
"I know you didn't sleep well tonight," Tojo remarked. "Just go in. I know you want to."
Chaka smiled wryly at the older lion. "Again... Why're you helping me? I'll do nothing to make your task easy. I'll tell you that now."
Tojo watched, eyes half-hooded, as Chaka stood up. "Maybe I hate seeing others struggle to convince themselves that they don't need help, or think they want help for other reasons."
"You've got a lot of work ahead of you if you want me to think less with my anger and more with reason."
Tojo chuckled and yawned again. "You'll find I have ways of tricking others into doing things."
Chaka smiled genuinely, but only because Tojo's back was to him. "Never would've guessed that."
~ ~ * * * () * * * ~ ~
The sun erupted over the horizon at the east, casting a long shadow at Tanga's side. Her mouth and nose were dry, and her head was pounding. She didn't know exactly where she was going, but she knew what she was running from.
"I'll leave, but by my freewill. I was stupid to stick around for you, and I tried my best to help, but clearly you're beyond help... Waste your life like Natin, I don't care. It's your life, not mine. You'll never change..."
"Fine! You are stupid! I like who I am! I'm glad Natin's dead! He was a coward! I hate you!"
If she lived, Tanga vowed she'd never allow anyone to manipulate her again. She also made up her mind that she'd stop resorting to manipulating others, too. She hadn't fully understood what she'd done when she'd suggested the crazy hunting plan to Natin and Asuma, or had tried to guilt both Natin and Asuma into changing, but she now knew such tactics had been desperate, futile, and wrong. She had to grow up, and accept that not everybody was good at their core, and that others could be just as stubborn as her.
But, although it was no longer possible, part of her wanted to retreat to a time when she'd been ignorant to all the unpleasant things around her. At least then, she'd felt love for her family and had felt loved by them. Everything had seemed so peaceful. The juvenile, silly lioness now tucked away somewhere in her beat up heart just wanted to be somewhere safe and loving. She needed to rest, recover. That would help her to consider everything that had happened since she'd run away from home.
Running in long bursts now, Tanga had tried to make it further north, but once or twice she'd needed to stop to rest and cry self-pityingly. She'd considered turning around and going back, and had taken a few steps in the direction she'd come, but had forced herself to stop.
Asuma doesn't really need me if he resorts to chasing me away with his outrageous lies.
She had no more tears to cry, but her chest continued to ache, as if she were already mourning her brother- not the brother she'd abandoned, but the brother she'd curled up with as a small cub, played with, and sympathized with when she'd seen what her family was doing and heard all the terrible things their father had done to him. Her brother... the thought of never seeing him again twisted her stomach into knots. She choked on a sob, but there were still no tears.
I don't understand... why'd he refuse help? Why was it so hard for him to just open his stubborn mouth? I could've handled it. Instead, he resorted to trickery so he could continue hunting Father... I don't know who's worse... Father hunting son, or son hunting father...
She slowed her pace to a brisk walk.
Maybe what he does need is to kill Father?
She shivered.
But what then? Will I ever see him again? If I see him again, will it really be him even? Oh... what am I even thinking...
The Pride Lands seemed to be a breeding ground for turmoil. Brother pitted against brother, attempted murders of one prince after another... Why? Why? Was she herself doomed to continue the cycle of hatred that had poisoned the Pride Lands for all too many generations? Would she one day become like that, or give life to a cub that would be tempted and eventually consumed by a darkness that seemed to permeate the blood of its family?
Overcoming obstacles was something her family was good at. They were strong-willed, but she couldn't help but feel that there was something worse on the horizon. She couldn't explain it. Kovu wasn't just gonna disappear forever, her brother wasn't gonna stop thinking about him even after he somehow managed to kill their father. And then there was the pride...
Will anyone come out unscathed?
Tanga lifted her head as a fresh, herby scent hit her nose. Squinting through the waves of early morning heat rising off the land, she thought she saw a green mass. If not for the smell of flowers and water, she would've believed she was imagining things.
Maybe it's Timon and Pumbaa's oasis? But... what are the chances that Asuma had sent me in that direction...
Sighing, Tanga plunged forward. With every step she took, the green grew more pronounced, beckoning her. She wasn't going to die out in the desert, her family never knowing what had happened to her. By the time she reached the fringe of the jungle, she was panting hard. She kept running, crashing through the green plants that whipped her legs. The damp ground squished between her toes. In the canopy, birds shrieked. She heard the calls of other animals that she had never heard before. The further she advanced into the forest, the thicker and hotter the air became. Light-headed, she stumbled over an exposed root and fell into a bush with a sharp crash. She cried out and growled in irritation.
"If it's not Asuma, Father, or Natin beating up my insides, it's plants beating up my body!" she growled as she crawled from the bush. She laid out on her side, trying to still her breathing. She blinked in the spot of light that fell over her face and dappled her body in shadows. Where the shadows fell, she could feel the coolness. After lying there and calming herself down, she stood up once more. She was unafraid of getting lost- where was she supposed to go otherwise? Back to the desert? Here there was plenty of food, places to hide, and-
Water!
A small waterfall fed a large spring. At the bank, she sniffed at the clean, clear water. She'd never seen such beautiful water. In comparison, it made the watering hole in the Pride Lands come off as stagnant. After she was sure there was nothing treacherous swimming around, she stepped in and soaked her fur. She paddled around for a while before she flipped over on her back and tried to float, but without much success. She was glad there was nobody around to see her flounder around, choke, and snort the water in her throat and nose. Face burning, she returned to the shore. After the coughing fit had subsided, she drank her fill.
I could stay here a few days... then maybe find someone who knows the way to the Pride Lands... No, no... I... I need to get home sooner rather than later. I've got to tell Mother what's happened, and probably apologize for running away in the first place.
Groaning, she decided to rest for the morning before she went hunting. Her joints were stiff now that she wasn't pushing herself to run as fast as she was capable of. Soon enough, she found a small clearing that was headed by a large tree with exposed roots that made a shape that seemed to make a perfect nest. Getting comfortable, she curled up with her ears alert and eyes wide open.
No telling what lives here...
She closed her eyes briefly and sighed. She then opened her eyes half-way. The oasis was remarkably beautiful, and it was so peaceful. Soon, silent tears were running from her eyes. She couldn't stop thinking of all the things she had to tell her pride, things that would make them very upset.
Not to mention that they'll have to fess up to all the things they hid so carefully from me...
She shook her head in disappointment, anger, and exhaustion.
No... the best thing you can do right now is get some rest, she told herself. You had all night, and now the rest of your life to analyze the details for all they're worth. Just rest for now...
She closed her eyes and sighed again.
Just rest...
~ ~ * * * () * * * ~ ~
Alright... maybe I don't remember the exact way to the oasis...
Golden, shimmering sun rays chased away the chill of brisk, night air. In the distance, vivid reds and purples tinted the sky. The lifting of darkness uncovered unfamiliar scenery, and a faint dawn mist obscured trees and bushes. Each tree seemed to be a copy of the next.
Kiara swung her head from side to side, anxious not to waste time. She stopped walking and turned to Kenyi with his father's bird on his shoulder.
"Could Bron do a quick survey?" she asked. Her eyes traveled from Kenyi's neutral face to the small, blue bird. "Could you see, Bron, if the trees are getting thinner in any direction? We're headed for a desert soon."
"Notta problem, Miss," the bird chirped. He stretched his wings and neck for a moment. He then jumped down from his prince's shoulder and landed briefly on the ground before taking flight, quickly becoming a small speck in the sky.
"He'll get us there," Kenyi remarked, nose titled to the sky. In the sunlight, he squinted his blue eyes.
"Was it your father's idea to bring him?"
He shook his head. "Mine..." A quick, dubious look crossed his face, and for the first time, he laughed a bit. "I dreamed of flying birds last night."
Kiara tilted her head. "Flying birds?"
Kenyi's smile was modest. "Yeah." He shrugged. "There were just two of them, up in a sky, circling."
"Maybe your shaman knows what she's talking about?" Kiara offered, trying to keep a joking tone. She sensed Kenyi's apprehension to fill such a role. "Life has a way of... pushing you in the right direction," she added, "whether we have other expectations or not."
"Maybe," Kenyi replied smoothly.
As the sunlight grew stronger, Kiara and Kenyi took the opportunity to groom themselves and stretch their tired limbs. Kiara's stomach growled ravenously, and the younger lion took notice with a brief glance and a slight smirk. If they were still wandering when the sun made it to its apex, they would stop to eat.
I hope Tojo's on to something with his idea about Timon and Pumbaa...
Flapping wings broke into Kiara thoughts. She looked up as Bron perched atop of Kenyi's head.
"W'keep in the same direction, w'should b'fine." The bird then made a pointing gesture. "'Notta thing, miss, but we barely missed runnin' inta two rogues... The'be headed that away fast."
The bird pointed in the general direction of the Pride Lands, making Kiara uneasy. "You don't think they're..."
"I hope the'aren't, miss queen. No worries... M'king an' Chaka can handle it."
Kiara turned to her young escort. "Kenyi, what do you think?"
"Bron's right." He shrugged. "And everybody needs to be somewhere, in a hurry or otherwise."
Doesn't quite put me at ease, but I'm thankful we avoided the rogues.
"Well... speaking of being somewhere," Kiara said, "we need to get to the oasis, and soon." She began to walk, but paused when she realized Kenyi was hesitating. She turned, and noticed the blank look on his young face, as if he were lost in thought. She quietly called his name.
Kenyi seemed to snap out of it. "I had a thought for a moment," Kenyi explained, his tone slightly frustrated.
Curious, Kiara narrowed her eyes. "Oh?"
"I lost it." Kenyi glanced at the horizon once more before he caught up with her. A slight look of defeat filled his eyes.
It was then she realized his attention had been in the direction of the two travelers. The irksome feeling from the night before flowed over her. "Maybe... We should go back home..."
"What?" Kenyi frowned. "No... I just- No, Kiara, don't read into it, please." He glanced to the side. "You should carry out my father's request for your brother's sake. Ignore me."
Kiara lowered her ears. Should I ignore him and my own intuition?
"I have these little half-formed thoughts sometimes," Kenyi spoke rapidly. "They lead to nothing." He lowered his chin slightly and directed his gaze to the bird on his head. "Right, Bron?"
Bron bobbed his head agreeably and sympathetically.
Bron is right... Chaka, Tojo, and all the lionesses can handle things... And I can't run home just because I have a strange feeling...
"Alright, then..." Frowning, too, Kiara reluctantly turned on her paws. "Let's go."
But, I wish I knew what's bothering me...
~ ~ * * * () * * * ~ ~
"Natin?"
His nephew blinked slowly and turned his head. "Huh?"
"We should slow down. You can't keep up this pace."
Natin scowled. Without too much trouble, they'd traveled through the night, and had made it to the border of the Pride Lands. "It's your son's life- How am I supposed to help you help him if you keep making me stop? Pride Rock is right there." The younger lion jabbed his muzzle at the small, stone monument in the distance that Kovu had to squint to see. The mid-morning sun had already cast it in gold.
"You look like you're about to fall over again," Kovu remarked. They were perched on a hill, and had arrived a bit earlier than they'd estimated, after Natin had set a hard pace.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
You're not very convincing with that shake in your voice. Kovu also saw how the young lion's pelt and muscles sagged on his vulnerable frame.
"Assume Chaka's patrolling," Natin said, "so stay alert. I think we should go see Tswane first. He's the last creature Asuma and I saw before we left."
It's as good a plan as any...
Kovu lowered his eyes. "What should I say to Kiara? When we finally see her?"
Natin made a face. "I dunno... maybe just don't blurt out your apology the first moment you see her. There's more important things we've gotta do first, and at least for me, actions speak louder than words."
"Your lies... Your words are meaningless..."
Kovu cringed as Asuma's cruel words whispered in his mind.
Natin looked around and started loping down the small hill. "And stop wasting energy on asking how I am. This is my job, regardless of what condition I am in. I could be worse off. Just remember that."
Kovu frowned, rolling his eyes, but said nothing and ran after Natin. He had been quiet through the night, only following and thinking about the dream he'd had. The sunlight was a strong golden color when Kovu spoke up again, apparently catching Natin off guard.
"Now what did you say?" Natin looked over his shoulder.
Kovu averted his gaze for a moment. He repeated, "Asuma failed the Council's test... the one they used to measure how much compassion he has left. I think he knew he was being set up because he knew almost immediately what I was talking about."
"The Council didn't send Asuma to you. You're just thinking wishfully."
"I'm not asking you to believe in my dream," Kovu said firmly. "It's just..." He growled. "Something bothers me about it all."
With Natin's silence, Kovu sensed his nephew didn't know what to reply.
"So pretend for a moment that it wasn't just a nightmare," Kovu tried to ask in his most persuasive voice.
"Sure... I guess."
Kovu struggled to figure out a starting point. "Asuma... Asuma- He was furious that I was in his dream, which I can't blame him for. I did feel like an intruder. I don't know if we were sharing the same dream, or if I'd been implanted into his dream."
"That makes no sense, Kovu."
"Now that I think about it... I don't know why the Council sent me to him that way," Kovu continued. "They said specifically that they couldn't mess with Asuma's dreams- Before, well, I thought they'd figured out a clever loophole. By sending me as their messenger, I could warn him about Fola and the others."
"Those wise ancestors really want him as their king, huh?" Natin quipped. Kovu heard the bitterness in his voice, but couldn't place the other feelings that he sensed was there. Natin looked uneasy.
Kovu narrowed his eyes. "If it makes you feel any better, Asuma knows I fear him and believes I think of him as a pathetic, shivering cub. He was insulted when I said I cared about him. He told me himself that nobody deserves him as a king... and when he asked why the Council wants him... I didn't have an answer. Either way, he seemed resigned to die for Tanga's sake so she could get away from-"
Natin started to laugh. It sounded hollow and dark.
Shocked, Kovu growled. "What is it now?"
"Asuma wouldn't give up his life unless it guaranteed you'd die, too. Now I know it was just a wishful nightmare. Your subconscious believes in him a little bit too much."
Kovu's lips curled back. He didn't know how much more taunting he could take from Natin; his patience was waning.
Somebody has to believe in Asuma, and it should be his own father. I've had one too many fail to believe in me... though I can see why...
After that, Kovu didn't press his dream as he jogged behind Natin. The bigger Pride Rock grew, the slower they were forced to travel, and the more cautious Natin became. They didn't know whose eyes were watching for them, and even a bird or small burrowing creature could betray them before they were ready to make their presence known to the Pridelanders, and most importantly to Kiara.
"Get down!"
The sudden hiss caught Kovu off guard. When Natin ducked down, he didn't expect Natin to also stick out his paw to trip him. Kovu tumbled into the tall grass.
"Chaka," Natin spat. He was panting and his eyes were clear, but confused. "There's someone with Chaka, too- some big lion with gold fur and a brown mane."
What?!
Kovu frowned and glared at Natin. "Is this something else you lied to me about in your report, and then forgot to explain?"
Natin shook his head. "No, it's not. Maybe the other guy's here because they knew you were planning to attack the Pride Lands. Must be out on border patrol together so Chaka's not caught out all by his lonesome."
"Maybe." Kovu cocked his ears before he slowly lifted his head above the grass. The two lions were talking, but they hadn't noticed anything amiss. Kovu ducked back down. "I think the other lion is old King Tojo, but I'm not sure. He doesn't have one of his blue birds with him."
Natin raised a brow. He breathed, "Birds?"
"Simba said Tojo cared for a few of them when he was a cub, and he's kept a few as majordomos ever since."
Natin pulled a face and made a dismissive gesture with his shoulders. "Well... if the guy can care for birds as a cub, then there might be hope for us just yet." He then jerked his head. "C'mon, we need to make it to Tswane's tree."
Natin slunk past him, and Kovu followed. Belly crawling would get old fast, but it was better than being found out by two much bigger lions.
"Y'know..." Natin said after a while. "If Asuma... well... if your dream really did mean anything... If Asuma doesn't believe he's worthy, it's gonna take a lot of convincing to get him to take on the role that the Council thinks he should have..."
A chill ran though Kovu. "That doesn't sound like it lives up to their 'no screwing with freewill' policy."
"My point exact-"
A startled bird sprang up from its nest. Natin issued several muffled growls as it pecked his face and cried at the top of its lungs. Natin fought the bird off feebly as it attacked his eyes.
Kovu noticed one of Natin's paws was coated in fresh egg shell and yolk. As Natin batted at the bird, Kovu lunged forward and smacked it to the ground. He crushed it beneath his weight to silence it before he ended its life by wounding its neck. The wriggling, broken body of the bird beneath his paws made Kovu shudder.
The damage was already done. Kovu and Natin heard the horrifying sound of two big bodies crashing through grass. Natin dared to look up, and without even seeing if Kovu followed, he took off. Kovu didn't need to be told, however. His stomach turned. He jumped to his paws, exposing himself to Chaka and Tojo. Immediately, he heard a furious roar as he propelled himself forward to Natin's side.
"Kovu!" Chaka hollered.
I'm the only one who knows what has become of Asuma and Tanga... I can't get caught! I can't! Run! Run!
"Tswane's our only hope!" Natin gasped. "And it's a long shot!"
[A/N: I foresee in my crystal ball… lots of homework from my professors this quarter… I have Technical Writing, Non-Fiction Writing, and Grammar. On the plus side, the next chapter is completely drafted… but is in need of heavy editing. I tried bolting out this chapter and the next in a couple sittings, while normally I nit-pick and take forever to get through one scene after another. Editing, however, still takes about a week at best. -_- I promise I'll do my best to remedy this cliffhanger!]